MPs want body to probe past incidents

Government MPs want an independent complaints body in Parliament House to be given the power to investigate alleged incidents from previous parliaments.

Prime Minister and Cabinet Department senior official Stephanie Foster. Picture: Gary Ramage

Government MPs want an independent complaints body in Parliament House to be given the power to investigate alleged incidents from previous parliaments.

The calls come after former Liberal MP Julia Banks alleged she was subjected to an unwanted sexual advance by a cabinet minister in the Turnbull government in 2017.

An internal review into parliament workplace complaints – launched in the wake of former staffer Brittany Higgins’ rape allegation – recommended creation of an independent complaints team to clamp down on workplace harassment and assault.

The government’s response to the review is expected to be finalised within weeks. But Finance Minister Simon Birmingham has hinted new complaints procedures are unlikely to cover retrospective alleged incidents, saying, “it becomes a point as to where do you draw the line in those regards”.

Western Australian MP Celia Hammond said the independent mechanism should have the power to investigate past incidents if either the complainant or alleged perpetrator still worked in parliament. “If either party are still a member, senator or working there, there should be no timelines,” she said.

Prime Minister and Cabinet Department senior official Stephanie Foster’s report recommended non-compulsory training for parliamentarians and their staff but Ms Hammond is pushing for mandatory anti-harassment training. She said there should be a public record of which MPs had undertaken the education program on how to respond to bullying, harassment and assault allegations.

“As part of the mandatory element we should have a system, similar to the register of interests, so MPs would need to publicly record education and training they have done and ensure it is being done by staff in their offices,” she said. “Just like the register of interests, it provides accountability and scrutiny.”

Nationals MP Anne Webster, leading the party’s response to a separate review into parliament workplace culture, agreed with the retrospective scope for the independent body. She said this would ensure future policy was shaped by the best evidence.

“Trauma is trauma and often not resolved by the passage of time,” she said.

Dr Webster, who in March revealed she was sexually harassed on the floor of parliament, said delays in reporting harassment or assault offences were common.

“Police frequently have to traverse that terrain with victims,” she said.

But moderate Liberal MP Katie Allen said the prospective body needed to “focus on getting things right now to ensure it has the greatest impact into the future”.

“We want Australians to be proud of their leaders and aspire to work there one day themselves,” she said.

Labor has already called for the complaints mechanism to have a wide scope so it can retrospectively investigate workplace incidents.

Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins is conducting a wider review of the parliamentary workplace culture, with a full report due in November.

Ms Banks, who in her new memoir alleged she was silenced by Scott Morrison after she decided to leave the Liberal Party, told The Guardian she would submit her book to Ms Jenkins’ review but would not give a formal statement because she did not trust the confidentiality of the process.